Teacher wakes up to find half-naked young woman armed with knives beside his bed

Teacher Richard Hill said: "Imagine someone praying. That was the position her hands were in, but they were full of knives."

A maths teacher woke up to find a woman in her 20s standing over him in her bra and panties clutching a set of knivesReuters

A maths teacher woke up to find a woman half his age in her bra and panties standing over him clutching a set of knives.

Richard Hill, 44, understandably thought he was dreaming, but when he saw the knives in the intruder's hand he realised it was real nightmare.

Hill woke about 4am last Wednesday (24 January) to find a "stunning" woman in the bedroom of his Worcester flat. He added: "She was in her 20s and wearing just bra and knickers."

But he noticed her hands were up near her face.

The dad-of-two who is separated from his partner told the Sunday Mercury: "Imagine someone praying. That was the position her hands were in, but they were full of knives."

But Hill had worked as a bouncer for two decades and his experience kicked in.

He said: "I stood up and got her to hand over the knives. I've been stabbed a couple of times working the doors, but this made me more scared. She didn't put up much of a fight, but I've been a doorman for 20 years.

"I was brought up to do the right thing. And the right thing to do was to help this woman. It was clear she wasn't a drunken idiot."

He discovered the set of knives she had been wielding were his own taken from the kitchen in his second-floor flat. She had also helped herself to half a bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey and some wine.

The teacher said: "She just sat on the sofa babbling. I rang the police and they said they were looking for her."

A few minutes later eight officers arrived at his door armed with tasers to subdue her. Hill said the whole episode lasted less than half an hour.

A spokesman for West Mercia Police said: "Police were concerned for the safety of a woman who is reported to have entered a property at around 4am.

"The woman, aged in her 20s, was detained under the Mental Health Act and taken to hospital for specialist medical care. Nobody is reported to have been injured during the incident."